H. B. 2504
(By Delegates Boggs and Williams)
[Introduced January 24, 2007; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17A-4-10 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to salvage certificates for certain
wrecked vehicles; changing the threshold by which a vehicle is
determined to be totaled; clarifying
that insurance companies
must obtain the title to a totaled vehicle when they pay a
claim to an insured or claimant, as a condition of payment;
providing that the cost of airbag replacement is not to be
considered when calculating the cost of repair for the
purposes of determining whether the vehicle is totaled;
providing that nothing in subsection (a) of the section shall
be construed to limit the ability of any party to a claim for
damages to a motor vehicle to settle the claim by arbitration
or negotiation; clarifying that insurers shall, within ten
days, determine if the vehicle is repairable, cosmetically
damaged or nonrepairable and submit an application on a form prescribed by the commissioner; providing that only a
wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder that is licensed by the Division
of Motor Vehicles is exempt from the payment of the five
percent privilege tax on titling reconstructed vehicles.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17A-4-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. TRANSFERS OF TITLE OR INTEREST.
§17A-4-10. Salvage certificates for certain wrecked or damaged
vehicles; fee; penalty.
(a) In the event a motor vehicle is determined to be a total
loss or otherwise designated as "totaled" by any insurance company
or insurer, and upon payment of an agreed price as a claim
settlement to any insured or claimant owner for the purchase of the
vehicle, the insurance company or the insurer as a condition of the
payment, shall receive require the owner to surrender the
certificate of title and the vehicle: except that Provided, That
an insured or claimant owner may choose to retain physical
possession and ownership of a cosmetically damaged vehicle, as
provided in subdivision (2) subsection (d) of this subsection
section. The term "total loss" means a motor vehicle which has
sustained damages equivalent to seventy-five percent or more of the
market value as determined by a nationally accepted used car value
guide: Provided, however, That the cost to replace any inflatable air bag restraint safety system, both materials and labor, shall
not be included in the calculation of sustained damages: Provided
further, That this proviso does not relieve any insurance company
or insurer of any insurance policy contractual obligation to
replace an air bag restraint system in a vehicle not totaled under
the provisions of this section. Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed to limit the ability of any party to a claim for
damages to a motor vehicle to settle the claim by arbitration or
negotiation.
(b) The insurance company or insurer shall within ten days of
payment of the claim; determine if the vehicle is repairable,
cosmetically damaged, or nonrepairable, and surrender the
certificate of title, and a copy of the claim settlement, and a
completed application on a form prescribed by the commissioner, to
the Division of Motor Vehicles.
(c) If the insurance company or insurer determines that the
vehicle is repairable, the division shall issue a "salvage
certificate", on a form prescribed by the commissioner, in the name
of the insurance company or the insurer. The certificate shall
contain on the reverse thereof spaces for one successive assignment
before a new certificate at an additional fee is required.
(1) Upon the sale of the vehicle the insurance company or
insurer shall endorse complete the assignment of ownership on the
salvage certificate and deliver it to the purchaser. The vehicle shall not be titled or registered for operation on the streets or
highways of this state unless there is compliance with subsection
(c) (g) of this section. The division shall charge a fee of
fifteen dollars for each salvage title issued.
(2) (d) If the insurance company or insurer determines the
damage to a totaled vehicle is exclusively cosmetic and no repair
is necessary in order to legally and safely operate the motor
vehicle on the roads and highways of this state, the insurance
company or insurer shall upon payment of the claim settlement
submit the certificate of title to the division.
(A) (1) The division shall, without further inspection, issue
a title branded "cosmetic total loss" to the insured or claimant
owner if the insured or claimant owner wishes to retain possession
of the vehicle, in lieu of a "salvage certificate." The division
shall charge a fee of five dollars shall be charged for each
"cosmetic total loss" title issued. The terms "cosmetically
damaged" and "cosmetic total loss" do not include any vehicle which
has been damaged by flood or fire. The designation "cosmetic total
loss" on a title cannot be changed.
(B) (2) If the insured or claimant owner elects not to take
possession of the vehicle and the insurance company or insurer
retains possession, the division shall issue a cosmetic total loss
salvage certificate to the insurance company or insurer. The
division shall charge a fee of fifteen dollars for each cosmetic total loss salvage certificate issued. The division shall, upon
surrender of the cosmetic total loss salvage certificate issued
under the provisions of this paragraph, and payment of the five
percent privilege tax on the fair market value of the vehicle as
determined by the commissioner, issue a title branded "cosmetic
total loss" without further inspection.
(3) (e) If the insurance company or insurer determines that
the damage to a totaled vehicle renders it nonrepairable, incapable
of safe operation for use on roads and highways and which has no
resale value except as a source of parts or scrap, the insurance
company or vehicle owner shall in the manner prescribed by the
commissioner request that the division issue a nonrepairable motor
vehicle certificate in lieu of a salvage certificate. The division
shall issue a nonrepairable motor vehicle certificate without
charge.
(b) (f) Any owner, who scraps, compresses, dismantles or
destroys a vehicle for which a certificate of title, nonrepairable
motor vehicle certificate or salvage certificate has been issued,
shall, within twenty days, surrender the certificate of title,
nonrepairable motor vehicle certificate or salvage certificate to
the division for cancellation. Any person who purchases or
acquires a vehicle as salvage or scrap, to be dismantled,
compressed or destroyed, shall within twenty days surrender the
certificate to the division.
(c) (g) If the motor vehicle is a "reconstructed vehicle" as
defined in section one, article one of this chapter, it may not be
titled or registered for operation until it has been inspected by
an official state inspection station and by a representative of the
Division of Motor Vehicles. who has been designated by the
commissioner as an investigator Following an approved inspection,
an application for a new certificate of title may be submitted to
the division; however, the applicant shall be required to retain
all receipts for component parts, equipment and materials used in
the reconstruction. The salvage certificate must also be
surrendered to the division before a certificate of title may be
issued with the appropriate brand.
(d) (h) The owner or title holder of any motor vehicle titled
in this state which has previously been branded in this state or
another state as "salvage," "reconstructed," "cosmetic total loss,"
"cosmetic total loss salvage," "flood" or "fire" or an equivalent
term under another state's laws shall, upon becoming aware of the
brand, apply for and receive a title from the Division of Motor
Vehicles on which the brand "reconstructed," "salvage," "cosmetic
total loss", "cosmetic total loss salvage," "flood" or "fire" is
shown. The division shall charge a fee of five dollars will be
charged for each title so issued.
(e) (i) If application is made for title to a motor vehicle,
the title to which has previously been branded "reconstructed," "salvage," "cosmetic total loss," "cosmetic total loss salvage,"
"flood" or "fire" by the Division of Motor Vehicles under this
section and said application is accompanied by a title from another
state which does not carry the brand, the division shall, before
issuing the title, affix the brand "reconstructed," "cosmetic total
loss," "cosmetic total loss salvage," "flood" or "fire" to the
title. The privilege tax paid on a motor vehicle titled as
"reconstructed", "cosmetic total loss," "flood" or "fire" under the
provisions of this section shall be based on fifty percent of the
fair market value of the vehicle as determined by a nationally
accepted used car value guide to be used by the commissioner.
(f) (j) The division shall charge a fee of fifteen dollars
for the issuance of each salvage certificate or cosmetic total loss
salvage certificate but shall not require the payment of the five
percent privilege tax. However, upon application for a certificate
of title for a "reconstructed", "cosmetic total loss", "flood" or
"fire damaged vehicle", the division shall collect the five percent
privilege tax on the fair market value of the vehicle as determined
by the commissioner unless the applicant is otherwise exempt from
the payment of such privilege tax. A wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder
licensed by the division is exempt from the payment of the five
percent privilege tax upon titling a reconstructed vehicle. The
division shall collect a fee of thirty-five dollars per vehicle for
inspections of reconstructed vehicles. These fees shall be deposited in a special fund created in the State Treasurer's office
and may be expended by the division to carry out the provisions of
this article. Licensed wreckers/dismantlers/rebuilders may charge
a fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars for all vehicles owned by
private rebuilders which are inspected at the place of business of
a wrecker/dismantler/rebuilder.
(g) (k) A certificate of title issued by the division for a
reconstructed vehicle shall contain markings in bold print on the
face of the title that it is for a reconstructed, flood or fire
damaged vehicle.
(l) Any person who violates the provisions of this section
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one
thousand dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail for not more
than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that insurance
companies must obtain the title to a totaled vehicle when they pay
a claim to an insured or claimant, stipulate that the cost of
airbag replacement is not to be considered when calculating the
cost of repair for the purposes of determining whether the vehicle
is totaled, and to make necessary technical corrections.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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